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Polar explorer, educator Eric Larsen to speak at Northland College

April 5, 2011

Polar explorer and world-renown expedition guide Eric Larsen will speak at Northland College on Saturday, April 16 at 2:30 p.m., as part of the College’s Spring Visit Day. The event, to be held in the Sentry Room at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://www.northland.edu/ericlarsen.htm.

Recognized as one of the world’s preeminent polar explorers, Larsen has spent over 15 years traveling in some of the most remote and wild places left on earth. In 2006, Larsen completed the first ever summer expedition to the North Pole, paddling specially modified canoes across 550 miles of shifting sea ice and open ocean. He led is first expedition to the South Pole in 2007, covering nearly 600 miles in 41 days, and is one of only a few Americans to have skied to both the North and South Poles. In addition to his numerous polar expeditions, Larsen is an accomplished mountaineer, endurance cyclist and dog-sled racer.

In 2010, Larsen completed the final leg of the Save the Poles expedition, the first-ever journey to the South Pole, North Pole and summit of Mt. Everest in a continuous 365-day period. The expedition documented the effects of global warming in these remote regions of the world and contributed to a better understanding of the critical challenges our planet faces.

Larsen’s dedication to environmental education and polar exploration led Outside Magazine to name him to the publication’s “Eco All Stars” list in 2008. He is also a member of the prestigious Explorer’s Club, based in New York City.